Gaza Border Protests: Israeli Defense Minister Labels All Palestinian Residents as Terrorists - “There are no innocent people in Gaza”
In the wake of ongoing protests at the Gaza border in which 30 Palestinians were killed on two separate days by Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers in the past two weeks, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said in a statement on Sunday that,
“It has to be understood that there are no innocent people in Gaza. Everyone is affiliated with Hamas, they are all paid by Hamas, and all the activists trying to challenge us and breach the border are operatives of its military wing.” - the Times of Israel reported
Hamas is a U.N. designated terrorist group, and as such the defense minister's statement clearly designates all Gaza residents, particularly any Palestinian activists at the border protests, as terrorists. I'm sure Yaser Murtaja, an unarmed Palestinian journalist shot dead by the IDF while covering the border protests on Friday, would disagree with these harsh and arrogant words. News to Share on Saturday reported that,
Murtaja was one of many Palestinian journalists covering numerous “March of Return” protests at the border. Israeli forces opened fire on protesters nearing the border yesterday, using live ammunition through clouds of thick smoke and tear gas. Murtaja was shot in the stomach, and succumbed to his wounds last night – despite wearing a flak jacket clearly marked “press.”
Murtaja was shot in the town of Khuzaa. He was reportedly over 100 meters from the border, wearing his protective vest marked “press” and holding his camera when he was shot, according to the Washington Post.
The murdered journalist was also the founder of Ain Media and a former NewstoShare contributor, and lived his entire life in Gaza City, never even having the opportunity to leave before he lost his life at the hand of his oppressors. In one of his final Facebook posts, he writes, “My name is Yaser Murtaja. I’m 30 years old. I live in Gaza City. I’ve never traveled!” Sadly, he will now never get the chance.
Despite a total of between 6 and 10 journalists injured and at least 9 unarmed Palestinians killed in the Israeli attack on Friday, the IDF claims to be carefully and accurately targeting militant Hamas terrorists:
“Nothing was carried out uncontrolled; everything was accurate and measured, and we know where every bullet landed,” an official IDF spokesperson said of violence last week, an even bloodier day that resulted in at least 18 deaths,” News to Share reports.
There have been no reported Israeli casualties during the protests, and over a thousand Palestinians were injured in the Israeli attack on Friday. (Sourced from Sputnik News and the Times of Israel)
Of course the easiest way for an oppressor to defend himself against criticism over the murder of unarmed protesters and journalists among the oppressed, is to designate the entire people group he is oppressing as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, as the Israeli Defense Minister has done here with the Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip, by stating that “there are no innocent people in Gaza,” - accusing all 20,000+ Palestinian protesters present at the border of being affiliated with and paid by Hamas, and labeling all those attempting to "breach the border" and escape the virtual prison as “operatives of [Hamas'] military wing”.
A statement from the Defense Ministry later on Sunday said: “The defense minister in the interview intended to the word tamim (naive). Any other translation is mistaken,” the Times of Israel wrote.
However, a quick look at the context of the quote and the violent actions taken against hundreds of unarmed Palestinians demonstrates that, it is indeed meant here that there are no innocent people in Gaza. This statement is a defense against accusations of Israeli forces killing innocent Palestinians in Gaza, and the Defense Minister is clearly defending the actions of the IDF by asserting that “there are no innocent people in Gaza."
Israeli president Benjamin Netenyahu also defended the actions of the IDF and, as usual in such cases, claims the violence carried out by Israeli military forces against unarmed Palestinians was a heroic act of national self defense. The Times of Israel writes,
Netanyahu has said he salutes “the soldiers of the IDF who keep us safe… from those who pretend to speak of human rights, while holding a Nazi flag. Here is the naked truth. They speak of human rights, but they really want to crush the Jewish state. We won’t let them. We’ll stand strong. We’ll keep our country safe.”
The state of Israel has long played the part of the victim-state surrounded by ruthless Islamic enemy states and terrorist groups, justifying every military action taken against their enemies as self defense. But the charade is wearing thin, and the world is getting sick and tired of the lies. Israel continually claims to be 'threatened' by the mere potential of Iran obtaining one single nuclear missile, to the point they are currently threatening to wage war on Iran even without the support of the U.S., while they themselves are the nuclear superpower in the region with at least 80 to 200+ nuclear warheads. With that in mind, let us take a step back from the Zionist Israeli war-mongering propaganda and briefly examine what is actually going on in Gaza.
Because it is not the Israeli occupation of Palestine (the Zionist state of Israel) which needs protection, it is the oppressed Palestinians who have been the victims of a slow and steady genocidal agenda carried out by Israeli Occupation Forces ever since the illegitimate state was formed in 1948. Prior to the Zionist encouraged mass Jewish immigration to Palestine in 1946 which led to the formation of Israel and recognition of the Jewish state by the U.N., many native Jews and Christians had lived peacefully among the predominantly Islamic Arab population. But with the creation of the Jewish state of Israel taking plaace, Palestinians were violently forced off their lands and from their homes, and many were killed in the violent takeover of Palestine by the Zionists. A few Arab states fought back, and many more Palestinians fled to escape the violence.
Those who sought to return to their homes and lands after the fighting had ended, were not allowed to do so, and the Palestinians were eventually forced into what can best be described as giant Israeli refugee prison camps – the impoverished ghetto provinces of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many others fled to neighboring Arab nations. In Palestine - where Arabs, Jews, and Christians once lived together in peace for hundreds of years - is now a Zionist military police state called Israel where only Jews are welcome, which persecutes and oppresses both Christians and Muslims, Palestinians and other Arabs, and anyone who strongly criticizes Zionist policy or exposes their war crimes.
In 2007, the Israeli created and funded Islamist terror group, Hamas violently took control of Gaza from Mahmoud Abba's Fatah, two years after Israel withdrew its military presence from the Strip. In much the same way that U.S. Deep State operatives are responsible for the creation and funding of the Islamic terror groups, Al Qaida and ISIS, so Israel is responsible for the creation and funding of Hamas, in order to further justify their systematic oppression of the imprisoned Palestinians. Since the Gaza takeover by the terror group, Israel has repeatedly blamed the entire Palestinian population in Gaza for the terrorist actions of Hamas, and has most recently designated all Palestinian protesters in Gaza as Hamas militants ('terrorists'), despite the fact that the protesters who have been killed so far in the recent violence have been unarmed.
As noted above, Hamas took control of Gaza violently, despite their initial rise to power with a party election victory a year prior. The Palestinian president considers the current Hamas government in Gaza as illegitimate, but Hamas has military control of the province. The Palestinians in Gaza right now have about as much a say in whether Hamas should be their acting government as the Palestinians in the 1940s did when they were forced out of their homes and never allowed to return. Many who do support Hamas only do so because Hamas resists the oppressive Zionist occupation of Palestine, not because the group engage in acts of terrorism, while many Gazans feel they have no choice but to support Hamas, as they are affected by Israeli oppression either way, and Hamas is ruling Gaza by force either way.
Since 2007, these Palestinians have been for the most part trapped in Gaza due to both Israel and Egypt largely sealing their border crossings, with an Israeli-Egyptian blockade also preventing the import and export of a vast amount of goods, which has crippled their economy, and reduced their supply of gas and electricity. Israeli bombings during the '2014 Gaza war' left much of the infrastructure in ruins, while the blockades which prohibit the import of concrete and other construction materials greatly hinder the Palestinians' ability to rebuild, and have naturally had a devastating effect on the living conditions in the Gaza Strip. Israel banned the import of construction materials like concrete and steel because they say Hamas could use them to build bunkers or tunnels, and tin cans are often prohibited because they say Hamas could build weapons with them.
These Palestinians are de facto prisoners, trapped in a mini-state run by the violent Hamas, and kept there by the violent IDF. Those who reject Hamas have no where to run, and are then blamed for Hamas terrorism simply because they live in a place they aren't allowed to leave, ruled by an illegitimate government they have no way of overthrowing! And while Hamas does regularly engage in acts of terrorism from time to time, Palestinian violence is also often targeted at Israeli soldiers and government buildings rather than civilians, while Israeli violence is almost always carried out indiscriminately against the entire Palestinian population, as happened in 2014.
In the 2014 Gaza 'war', thousands of Palestinians were killed by Israeli violence, 65-70% of them civilians, while only 71 Israelis were killed, with 66 of those being soldiers. Over 10,000 Palestinians were injured, including over 3,000 children of which 1,000 were also permanently disabled, while only a few hundred Israelis were injured. Some call this war, but it seems more accurate to call it what it is - a military occupation crushing resistance from among the population being occupied and oppressed.
When a Palestinian kills an Israeli soldier, it is called terrorism and murder, but when an Israeli soldier kills a Palestinian, it is called self defense, just protecting your country. Which is ironic because the Palestinians that are killed have no country - because it was stolen from them. When Hamas indiscriminately launches crude rockets across the border into Israel, most commonly falling on open ground & killing no one, it is called terrorism. But when Israel launches airstrikes and indiscriminately drops bombs across the Gaza Strip, killing thousands and wounding thousands more, it is called self defense.
When Palestinian activists and protesters demand an end to the blockade, burn tires, attempt to breach the fences of their prison-state, and throw rocks at the Israeli soldiers guarding the border, it is called terrorism. But when IDF snipers open fire on the crowd of protesters through clouds of smoke and tear gas, killing unarmed protesters and journalists, and wounding over a thousand Palestinians, it is called self defense. The soldiers are praised and the unarmed Palestinians are designated as terrorists, because "it has to be understood that there are no innocent people in Gaza."
I for one, can see right past that Zionist lie.
These are not terrorists waving nazi flags, they are human beings demanding their human rights be recognized.
"YOU CAN'T DEFEND YOURSELF WHEN YOU'RE OCCUPYING SOMEONE ELSE'S LAND. CALL IT WHAT YOU LIKE, IT'S NOT DEFENSE." - Noam Chomsky